Arranged Marriage to My Ex-Best Friend...This Marriage Is So Screwed {Chapter 31}

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*Aiden’s POV*

Lian just left my house. This has to be the happiest day of my life. I finally got the girl I’ve wanted for so long. After everything that’s happened to both of us it’s nice to see that we did get some kind of happy ending. I don’t want to be a party pooper but I know it can’t be this easy. If it was then we would have gotten together so much sooner. Going back up these stairs is going to be a pain. But being able to spend more time with Lian was definitely worth going down the stairs. Even if it means that I have to go up them alone.

Before I start going up the steps the front door opens; it’s Braden. “Hey. Where have you been? You’ve been gone for a while,” I state.

“I went to work; then after I went over to Hannah’s house. She wasn’t feeling well so I wanted to make sure she ate something,” Braden answers.

“That’s very sweet of you. Who knew you were capable of that.”

“You should never underestimate your older brother.”

“But it’s just too easy too.”

“So did you finally talk to Lian? Because if you didn’t I’m going to call her right now. I don’t care if it is kind of late. This whole thing has gone on for too long.”

“Umm . . . how do I tell you this? She did come over,” I look away. I want to make it seem like we fought. It’s just too much fun messing with Braden.

“God, Aiden, did you screw things up again?”

Ouch that actually hurt. He does think so little of me. “No. I didn’t. I don’t get why you have such little faith in me. Lian and I are good. We’re great actually.”

“I’m sorry if I don’t sound supportive but really I know how important Lian is to you. I just want you to be happy. You know that. Sometimes being hard on you is the only way to get through that thick skull of yours. So why are things great between you two?”

“Yeah I guess I have to say thanks since you were the one that pushed me into talking to Lian. We’re great, awesome, superb, whichever adjective you want to choose because we’re finally dating.”

“No way! I’m so proud of you little brother. So does Mom know because you know she would be so happy if she found out?”

“No. It kind of just happened. So you’re the only person that knows. I would appreciate if you didn’t say anything until I talk to Lian. I don’t want to screw this up.”

“Of course little brother you have my word. I won’t even tell Hannah.”

“Yeah and I know how hard that will be on you.” I have to roll my eyes. It’s a good feeling to finally get to tell Braden that I’m dating Lian. He was the only person that ever knew about how much I really liked Lian when we were growing up. He was the one that always helped me.

*Lian’s POV*

“SHUT UP!! Are you serious?? I’m so happy for you Lian. Really I am,” Hales exclaims. I just conference called her Jen and Em to tell them about Aiden and me. It’s nice to see that Hales is happy.

“I’m shocked, but I have to say FINALLY!” Jen states.

“I’m with Jen there. Finally!” Em repeats.

“Thanks you guys really. I’m so happy too. It feels like finally everything in life is getting good. I just hope it gets better as time passes. I don’t want more drama to deal with,” I say.

“Drama is inevitable. If we could live a life with no drama things would be peaceful. The world doesn’t have real peace. I can tell you though, that as long as Aiden and you are willing to work things out, everything will be okay. Together you two are indestructible. I pity the fool who will try and break you guys up,” Hales says.

Hales somehow always knows the right things to say that will make me feel better. If not better, I at least feel like I know much more than I did a minute ago. We work well together because of that. Together we form the mind of a genius. We feed off of each other’s ideas.

“I’m going to go to sleep now you guys. I’ve had a very long day I’m exhausted,” Jen yawns to add emphasis.

“Okay night,” we all say. I hang up and put my phone down. Time to get ready for bed too. I wonder what Aiden is doing right now.

The answer comes in the form of a text

Before I go to sleep I want to say goodnight. I love you.

Aw that’s sweet. I could definitely get used to this.

I <3 you too. Sweet dreams. Don’t let the bed bugs bite.

*Aiden’s POV*

I <3 you too. Sweet dreams. Don’t let the bed bugs bite.

That was a nice thing to fall asleep to. I wonder what’s going to happen today. I can’t really leave my house yet since I’m still in my cast. UGH! This just gives me more reason to hate it. I need my freedom. I should be able to do my own things, but Mom is going to freak if I ask to go outside. I still don’t have a car so I guess there’s no way for me to leave either way. I need a new car.

I go downstairs to the kitchen. Even an easy task like this takes some time. Braden is up and cooking something. It seems good, but something isn’t right. Braden doesn’t cook.

“So why are you cooking today?” I ask.

“Well Hannah is coming over and I wanted to have breakfast made for her,” Braden answers.

“I see. Where is everyone else? The house seems kind of quiet for all of us kids.”

“Oh yeah Mom took Dria and Sophie out for something. I wasn’t really paying attention.”

“Oh I see. I’ll be in one of the rooms upstairs then I guess. So I’m not in your way.”

“No, why don’t you go call Lian and ask her to come here. I’m sure Hannah would love to get to know her better.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to get in your way.”

“I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t really mean it.”

I grab my phone from my pocket, but it’s not there. Darn. It’s in my room. I really don’t want to have to go all the way upstairs and then back down. Going up the stairs doesn’t take nearly as much time as going down, but it’s still annoying.

“Can I borrow your phone? I left mine upstairs,” I say

“Sure. Here you go little bro.”

*Lian’s POV*

Dead - Like the candle you burned out; spill the wax over the spaces left in place of angry words. Scream – To be heard, like you needed any more attention; throw the bottle, break the door and disappear. I wake up to my phone ringing. I look and see that it’s Braden that’s calling me. This doesn’t normally happen.

“Hello?” I ask tentatively. I wonder if I still sound sleepy, since I did just wake up.

“Lian it’s Aiden. I’m using Braden’s phone because mine is upstairs and I didn’t really feel like getting it. Did I wake you?” Aiden asks.

“Actually yes you did, but…”

“Oh sorry would you like me to hang up so you can sleep?”

“No, I don’t think I’m going to be able to sleep anymore. So what’s up?”

“Well Hannah is coming over and Braden offered to double with us. Would you like to go?”

“Of course. Hannah seemed really cool that last time I saw her. What time do you want me to be at your house?”

“Awesome. Come over whenever you want.”

“What should I wear? Is it formal or casual?”

“It’s just a breakfast at home then I’m not sure what else is happening so I’d say casual.”

“Okay, that’s no problem. I should be there within a hour and a half if I can get ready fast enough.”

“You don’t have to hurry. Hannah isn’t here yet. I just woke up too actually. Braden is the only one that’s fully awake. Speaking of Braden you don’t mind that I told him about us, right?”

“I don’t mind as long as you don’t mind that I told Hales, Em and Jen.”

“Should we tell our parents?”

“I’m not sure but we can always discuss that when I come over. I’ll go start getting ready now. Bye. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

I get ready as quickly as I can. I decide to wear dark skinny jeans, since they can be both casual and formal, with red ballet flats and a turquoise v-neck shirt. To add some flare to it I added a nice necklace to the ensemble. I decided to just keep my hair down since I don’t have much time to fix it.

The drive over to Aiden’s house didn’t take very long either. I was there within an hour from when I hung up with him. I wonder what the boys have planned for today.

*Aiden’s POV*

I answer the door hoping that it’s Lian who enters but it’s Hannah. “Hey, Hannah, Braden is up in his room right now.”

“Oh, I’ll just stay here with you then; if you don’t mind,” Hannah says.

“I don’t mind.”

“So how have you been holding up since the accident?”

“I’ve actually been doing pretty well. This cast and having no car is pretty much the worst of it. I want to be able to move around again, but Mom is still a little freaked so I’m on house arrest.”

“The cast will come off soon enough. Now about the car, that I don’t know what to do about that. Did your parents say anything about getting you a new car?”

“Mom, like I said before, is still freaked out, so I don’t think I’ll be a getting a car anytime soon. Dad has become so nonexistent in my life that I don’t even know how I should even begin to talk to him.”

“I speak from experience when I say; it’s always hardest in the beginning. Once you’re able to break through that barrier it’s so easy.”

“But that’s exactly my problem. How do I go on about breaking that barrier? It’s not like Dad is the most caring person in the world.”

“I’m sure he cares. He’s just not very flamboyant about it. Just talk to him when he’s calm and the two of you are alone somewhere. You should talk to him; it will make things a lot better for both of you.”

Before I can answer Hannah the door bell rings again. I was about to get up and answer the door when Hannah got up and walked to the door.

“Hey Lian how are you? I didn’t know you were coming over,” Hannah says.

“Oh, hi Hannah, I just got the call an hour ago so I see how that can happen,” Lian replies. She walks into the house and sees me. It’s almost an awkward thing seeing her right now. What am I supposed to do? If I kiss her like I want to Hannah will find out, but I guess she’ll find out either way.

I stand up and walk to Lian. I give her a peck on the cheek. Hannah gives me a questioning look. I pretend like I didn’t see her.

“You look beautiful in your outfit,” I tell Lian.

“Thanks. I didn’t know if I was supposed to dress casually or formally so I just went with this. This outfit works right?” Lian asks.

“Yeah I think the turquoise looks really good on you.”

Braden finally decides to make any appearance. “Hannah, Lian, I didn’t realize you two were already hear. I hope I didn’t keep you guys waiting too long,” Braden says. He gives Hannah a kiss and Lian a hug.

“So what exactly are we doing today? You were very mysterious about the plans. Apparently, Lian knows as little as I do,” Hannah says to Braden.

“Don’t worry, it requires absolutely no effort from you,” Braden says. “Now shall we all head to the dining room; where your surprise awaits you.”

*Lian’s POV*

We all head to the dining room and it looks fabulous. The table is covered in a red table cloth that matches my shoes, with fancy looking appliances. The boys must have spent some time getting this ready.

“Wow. It looks beautiful. How much work did you guys put into this?” I ask.

“Yeah, you guys didn’t have to go through this much work just for us,” Hannah adds.

“Well Braden did most of the work. I couldn’t really do much with these stupid crutches on,” Aiden says at little sadly. It hurts seeing him beat himself up so much over what’s happened to him. I wish he would understand that he still needs time to heal. But now isn’t the time to talk to him about that. Now we have fun with our food.

*Aiden’s POV*

The meal we prepared isn’t all that special, but it’s nice to know that the girls really like it. It lifts my spirits even if it’s just a little. I don’t even know why I’ve gone into this depressed mode all of a sudden. It’s definitely not fun though. I need to stop thinking depressing thoughts and just try and be happy for now. I can go back to my rut when everyone leaves.

“So we have an entire meat free course made today for you Lian,” Braden says.

“Oh thank you Braden. I forgot to tell you I’m vegetarian. How did you know?” Lian asks.

“Oh Mom and Aiden told me. How long have you been vegetarian?”

“Umm . . . it’s close to a year.”

“Is it hard?” Hannah asks.

“It’s actually not hard. That shocked me. It was a pretty smooth transition. The only complaint I have is that it’s a pain eating out sometimes, but it’s all worth it.”

“Your mom and Landon aren’t vegetarian are they?” Braden asks.

“No, they’re not.”

“That doesn’t bother you?”

“No, it doesn’t bother me. Mom and Dad are very supportive of me being a vegetarian and that’s all I can ask for. Just as they don’t force me to eat meat; I don’t force them to become vegetarian. I do this for myself.”

The conversation continues to flow like this as we eat our meal, which just happens to be some kind of pasta. It’s actually pretty delicious. I must say for a meal without meat I’m full. I guess Lian was right when she said that being vegetarian is a lot easier than most people make it seem. I would if I’d be able to last if I were to become a vegetarian. Would it be a good time to start now though? I do need my minerals and protein to heal. Too many thoughts and not enough time for action.